Celebrate 30 Years of Veriditas with us!

Pearls Along the Path: How the Annual Auction Brings Our Community Together

Celebrating Kathleen Stewart

Join the Veriditas Team!

Featured Labyrinth: Hedge Labyrinth in New Harmony, IN 

Walking Toward Wholeness: Reflections from a Garden Labyrinth

A Simpler Path to Veriditas Certification

Facilitator Community Hub

Why VIA Membership Matters: A Community of Support for Labyrinth Facilitators

Did You Know

Little Miracles on the Path

Staff Directory

Summer 2026

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Celebrate 30 Years of Veriditas With Us!

This year marks a meaningful milestone: the 30th anniversary of Veriditas. For three decades, Veriditas has lived up to its mission of inspiring personal and planetary change and renewal through the labyrinth experience, and has created a global community of walkers, facilitators, teachers, and seekers throughout its 30-year journey.

To celebrate this milestone, we invite you to join us for a special Zoom gathering on Sunday, August 23, 2026, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. PDT.  This online anniversary celebration will offer time to reflect on Veriditas’s roots, honor the community members who have carried the work forward, and imagine the path ahead with you as a part of it!

The program will include a number of special sections, including founder Lauren Artress and scientist Brian Swimme in conversation, musical interludes, a special auction presentation, breakout workshops with Veriditas teachers, community stories, and opportunities to connect with others who share a love of the labyrinth. Together, we will celebrate the past, present, and future of Veriditas in a spirit of gratitude for what’s happened through these three decades and excitement for what is yet to be.

Whether you have walked with Veriditas for many years or are newly discovering the labyrinth path, this celebration is an invitation to gather together, remember and reflect, have new insights and be inspired! Come raise a glass with us (a special celebratory “mocktail” recipe will be given out beforehand!), share in the wisdom of our community, and join us in stepping joyfully into the next 30 years.

To register for this special event,  click here; email [email protected]; or call the office at 707-283-0373.

We hope to see you there!,

“Imagination animates the psyche/soul, lighting the way as we walk toward spiritual maturity.” ~ Lauren Artress

SUPPORTING VERIDITAS

Pearls Along the Path: How the Annual Auction Brings Our Community Together

By Christine Wiles

Every year, the Veriditas Annual Auction reminds me that a labyrinth is never created by one pair of hands. Just as every labyrinth is brought to life through the vision, dedication, and care of many people, our auction is a community effort that reflects the very heart of Veriditas. From Jenny’s thoughtful coordination to the generosity of artists, donors and buyers, from the support of our Board of Directors and Council to the enthusiasm of our faculty, staff, volunteers, and participants around the world, each contribution becomes another pearl woven into the story of this extraordinary organization.

For Nathan and me, participating in the auction has become one of the highlights of each year. We have donated to the auction for nearly a decade, not simply because it supports Veriditas financially, an important part of our annual budget, but because it gives us the opportunity to give back to a community that has given us so much. Veriditas has profoundly shaped the course of our lives. We first met at Labyrinth Summer School, where a shared love for the labyrinth became the beginning of our own journey together. Today, Nathan serves as faculty, I have the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors, and together we have been blessed to build and share labyrinths across the country. Looking back, it’s remarkable to see how one organization helped reveal what has become our life’s calling.

The auction is also a beautiful opportunity for artists, authors, makers, and creators to share their gifts with a global community that deeply values meaningful work. Whether you donate original artwork, handcrafted items, books, experiences, or services, your generosity helps sustain Veriditas while introducing your work to hundreds of people who share an appreciation for beauty, contemplation, and the labyrinth tradition. And for those who browse and bid, the auction offers the joy of discovering one-of-a-kind treasures while directly supporting the future of our mission.

As we celebrate this 30th year of Veriditas (an anniversary often associated with the “pearl”) I invite you to consider how your own story has been touched by Veriditas. Perhaps you discovered healing on a labyrinth walk, found lifelong friendships, experienced a moment of clarity, or answered a call you didn’t know was waiting. Each of those moments is a pearl. By donating, bidding, or simply sharing the auction with others, you help ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to discover their own pearls within their journeys. Thank you for being part of this remarkable community. Together, we continue to walk the path, support one another, and keep the work of Veriditas alive for years to come.

Thank You!

As an organization grounded in community and sustained by the generosity of our supporters, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to our mid-year campaign. In our final days of the campaign, every gift—large and small—fuels our shared mission and ensures the labyrinth movement continues to offer spaces of peace, healing, and transformation across the world. We are profoundly grateful for your partnership, your belief in our work, and the dedication you bring to keeping the heart of Veriditas beating strong. Thank you for walking this path with us!

With deep appreciation,

Jenny Slama, Development Manager

STAFF News

Celebrating Kathleen Stewart

After more than 13 years of dedicated service to Veriditas, Kathleen Stewart has retired.

Throughout her years with Veriditas, Kathleen's warmth, care, and unwavering commitment have touched countless members of our community. Her contributions have helped support our mission and strengthen the organization in countless ways, leaving a lasting impact on all who have had the pleasure of working with her.

Kathleen's retirement comes as she focuses on her health, and we know our community will join us in holding her in our thoughts and wishing her strength and healing. We are deeply grateful for her many years of service and the generosity of spirit she brought to her work each day.

Please join us in thanking Kathleen for all she has given to Veriditas and in wishing her comfort, peace, and all the very best in the days ahead. She will always be a cherished part of the Veriditas community.

Join the Veriditas Team!

We have an an opening for a Part-Time Administrative & Event Coordinator. If you're organized, tech-savvy, and enjoy supporting meaningful programs and events, we'd love to hear from you. This flexible position is open to local and remote applicants. Experience with the labyrinth community is a plus, but not required. Learn more about the position and how to apply here.

“The labyrinth teaches us that symbols can exist side by side, even layered one on top of another, without contradiction or conflict”    ~ Lauren Artress

Featured Labyrinth: Hedge Labyrinth in New Harmony Indiana

A living labyrinth in New Harmony, Indiana, where winding paths lead inward, inviting contemplation, presence, and peace.

The Hedge Labyrinth is one of three beautiful public labyrinths in historic New Harmony, Indiana. Veriditas has hosted its Labyrinth Summer School here three times—in 2018, 2023, and 2026—bringing together participants from around the world to explore labyrinth design, sacred geometry, and the transformative practice of walking the labyrinth in this inspiring setting.

Just in Time for World Labyrinth Day

By Twylla Alexander

As we continue celebrating the many ways labyrinths connect people and communities around the world, we're delighted to share this inspiring story from longtime Veriditas friend and past Board member, Twylla Alexander. Originally published on her blog ahead of World Labyrinth Day in May 2025, Twylla's reflections from South Korea remind us that the labyrinth's universal language of peace, connection, and contemplation transcends borders and cultures.

I'll be on a plane headed back to the U. S. on World Labyrinth Day, May 3, when thousands of people will be walking labyrinths all over the world. Walk As One At 1:00 is the annual theme, creating a rolling wave of peaceful energy which spreads across the planet, from time zone to time zone. According to the World-Wide Labyrinth Locator, there's not a labyrinth on Jeju island or South Korea, for that matter; so even if I were here, I would "walk" in a different way. I planned to print a paper labyrinth from the internet and trace the path with my finger that day, somewhere between Seoul and Dallas. Still, I knew I would miss the experience of an actual walk. If only...

Can you guess where this is going? Let me tell you the story.

On Good Friday I drove to St. Isidore Catholic Retreat Center, about 20 minutes from our apartment to stroll through the peaceful gardens and eat lunch at the small café. Never one to pass up a gift shop, I stopped by on my way back to the parking lot. It was filled mostly with religious items – rosary beads, crosses, art work of Madonna and Child – and an interesting display of woolen blankets, with a Chartres labyrinth on them.

"Why a labyrinth?" I wondered, rubbing my fingers over the familiar design. Surely other religious symbols would be more appropriate for this setting – unless –

I hesitated only briefly before I picked up one of the blankets and walked to the check out counter where a clerk was waiting on another customer. While they spoke in Korean, I quickly typed my question in the Google Translate app, anticipating that she might not speak English. When it was my turn, I pointed to the labyrinth on the blanket and showed her my phone, "Is there a labyrinth in this area?" I waited, for what seemed far longer than the mere seconds it took her to answer, expecting that she would shake her head, look totally confused, or perhaps even laugh. But instead, she motioned for me to follow her to a wall map of the Center and its grounds. She pointed to a small circular pattern and said one word, "labyrinth."

I was stunned! What were the chances that there was actually a labyrinth, just across the parking lot? I bowed and repeated the only word I know in Korean, "Thank you," and walked toward a wall of lava rocks about 100 yards in the distance. I approached it slowly still convinced that there was not a labyrinth on the other side, that perhaps the map was old, had not been updated with current information, or that something had been lost in translation between the clerk and me.

I took three steps beyond the wall and discovered....

A full-size,11-circuit Chartres labyrinth!!

Sudden rush of joy, disbelief, wonder. I felt like I had encountered a friend in an unexpected place. I circled the labyrinth's edge to a rock at the entrance and sat, simply sat in silence.

In time I would journey the labyrinth's path, take photos of it, journal my reflections. But in that present moment, I savored the overwhelming emotion of gratitude.

On May 2nd, I'll return and walk the St. Isidore labyrinth, a day before the official World Labyrinth Day. But ultimately, walking a labyrinth is a walk of peace, no matter what day of the year.

I invite you to find a labyrinth in your area (check the Locator), print one to trace with your finger, download the app Labyrinth Journey on your phone or tablet, or join an online labyrinth walk with Veriditas.

I wish you peace wherever your path is leading you. May you be open to possibilities, even in the most unlikely of places.

Twylla

FYI - I have submitted the St. Isidore labyrinth to the administrator of the Labyrinth Locator so others can easily find it.

Walking Toward Wholeness: Reflections from a Garden Labyrinth

by Kathryn Reardon

I built a small labyrinth in my back garden as part of the research for my Master's assignment. What began as a practical component of a study exploring mental health, psychological integration, and spiritual practice gradually became something more personal: a daily companion and a place of unexpected learning.

Like many labyrinth walkers, I initially approached the practice as a form of reflection. Each day I stepped onto the winding path, following its familiar turns toward the centre and back out again. The simple rhythm of walking created space to notice thoughts, emotions, and questions that often remained hidden beneath the busyness of everyday life.

The labyrinth offered something increasingly rare: nowhere else to be and nothing to achieve. Freed from decisions about direction, I found my attention settling more fully into the experience of walking itself.

My research was informed by Carl Jung's concept of individuation, the lifelong process of becoming more whole through integrating the different aspects of ourselves that lie beyond conscious awareness. At first, my experience of the labyrinth seemed to support this inward journey. Walking became a space for self-reflection and psychological exploration.

Over time, however, something shifted.

What had begun as reflection gradually became relationship.

As I continued walking, I became increasingly aware of the garden surrounding the labyrinth. I noticed changes in light and weather, the movement of birds, the growth of plants, and the subtle rhythms of the seasons. My attention moved away from analysing my inner experience and toward a growing sense of participation in the world around me.

This shift was not something I set out to achieve. It emerged naturally through the practice itself.

One experience remains with me vividly.

During a walk, I found a baby sparrow that had fallen from its nest. Instinctively, I picked it up and carried it with me as I walked the labyrinth. At one point, it gently opened one eye and then closed it again. In that moment, I became aware that the bird was dying.

What might otherwise have been an ordinary walk became a profound encounter with vulnerability, mortality, and the fragile interconnectedness of life. Holding that small creature in my hands altered the quality of my attention completely. My usual concerns receded. There was only the bird, the path beneath my feet, and the quiet awareness of life unfolding beyond my control.

For a time, there was no need to interpret the experience or draw meaning from it. Simply being present felt enough.

Yet afterwards, I found myself reflecting on what the encounter revealed. I had often thought of wellbeing as primarily an internal process involving self-awareness, reflection, and psychological growth. The sparrow suggested something different. Healing and wholeness may also emerge through connection, compassion, and our participation in relationships that extend beyond the human world.

This insight resonated with the work of theologian Diarmuid O'Murchu, whose understanding of spirituality emphasises our embeddedness within an evolving and interconnected universe. From this perspective, we do not become whole in isolation. We are shaped through our relationships, with one another, with nature, and with the wider community of life.

As I reflected on both Jung and O'Murchu, I began to see that the labyrinth holds these two movements together. It invites us inward toward greater self-awareness, while simultaneously opening us outward toward deeper relationship with the world around us.

Perhaps wholeness involves both journeys. We turn inward to encounter ourselves more honestly, yet we also turn outward into relationship, recognising that our lives are woven into something much larger than ourselves.

Through daily walking, my relationship with the natural world has deepened in ways I did not anticipate. The labyrinth has become a place where I notice more, react less quickly, and feel less separate from the life unfolding around me. Rather than providing answers, it has changed the quality of my attention.

Many studies suggest that labyrinth walking can support relaxation, emotional regulation, and stress reduction. These findings are valuable. Yet they do not fully capture the experiences of meaning, connection, and transformation that so many walkers describe. Some of the most significant gifts of the labyrinth resist measurement. They emerge quietly through presence, attentiveness, and relationship.

My small garden labyrinth continues to be a place where such discoveries unfold.

It has not solved life's complexities, nor has it provided definitive answers to the questions that first inspired my research. What it has offered is something quieter but perhaps more enduring: a regular invitation to slow down, pay attention, and encounter both myself and the world with greater openness.

The labyrinth has taught me that wholeness may not be something we achieve once and for all. Instead, it may be an ongoing practice of integration, presence, and participation. We walk it one step at a time, following a path that continually brings us back into relationship with ourselves, with one another, and with the living world that surrounds us.

"When the imagination is rich and flowing with gratitude, so too is the quality of our lives"
~ Lauren Artress            

Facilitator Corner

Facilitator Community Hub

A reminder that Facilitators can use our new Community Hub on our private social platform called the Veriditas Circle to ask questions of the Veriditas Labyrinth Community and share your labyrinth creations, walks, and workshop experiences. 

Over 300 people have already signed up and if you have an account for our Online Learning Platform on Teachable, you can use the same login and password for both. The Veriditas Circle has public forums to ask for advice, share labyrinth love, and connect with fellow labyrinth facilitators, makers, and keepers. If you do not have a Teachable account with us and would like to sign up for Circle directly, use this invite link to create your account. 

Other ways to stay connected with our community include our Free Friday Online Handheld Finger Walks and the Free Meetups organized by the Veriditas Council.

Why VIA Membership Matters: A Community of Support for Labyrinth Facilitators

VIA membership offers connection, inspiration, resources, and ongoing support from a worldwide community dedicated to the transformative power of the labyrinth.

Whether you are newly trained, actively leading walks, creating labyrinth programs, or simply continuing to deepen your practice, VIA membership helps you stay connected to the larger labyrinth community and the evolving field of labyrinth facilitation.

Your membership helps sustain the work of Veriditas and our shared vision of a world with greater mindfulness, connection, and peace through experiences with the labyrinth. By becoming a VIA member, you help strengthen a global movement that supports healing, reflection, and transformation.

For more information about joining VIA, click here.

Did You Know? 

• Veriditas served 2,346 people in 2025
• The average length of employment for a Veriditas staff person is 14 years and 7 months
• There are 6,784 labyrinths in 100 countries registered on the World Wide Labyrinth Locator

Little Miracles on the Path

"Little Miracles" is produced by Linda Mikell. Each month she shares an inspirational story from a labyrinth experience that is sent to her by a facilitator. She welcomes YOUR story. I'm sure you're got one, and we all benefit from this sharing. Thank you, Linda! 

Please send your story to Linda Mikell at [email protected]

Staff Directory

	Lauren Artress, Founder [email protected] Media interviews, facilitator trainings, Grace and Chartres pilgrimages
	Dawn Matheny, Executive Director [email protected] Leading Veriditas, managing staff and budget, liaising with Board, planning event calendar, contracts, fundraising
	Annika Moore, Communications, Marketing & Technology Manager [email protected] Communications & marketing, website, supporting registration, lodging, internal systems and VIA membership. Handles event listings, graphics & materials